Members of Parliament from the tobacco growing districts have unanimously resolved to support the Uganda Tobacco control Bill, 2012. The resolution was arrived at during a meeting held between members of the Parliamentary Forum on Non-Communicable Diseases ( PFNCDs) and the MPs from the tobacco growing Districts, held on November 28, at the Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala.
According to the Chairperson of the PFNCDs, Hon. Namugwanya Benny, the meeting was aimed at generating consensus from the key stakeholders in parliament on the best strategies for support the quick enactment of the tobacco control bill. She said it is incumbent on all the policy makers to ensure that they pass a law that will protect both the present and future generations of Uganda from the devastating effects of tobacco, promote and protect the people’s right to health and liberate them economically.
The Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture Hon. Kasirivu Igantius urged the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAF)to urgently draw out a strategy for popularizing the identified alternatives to tobacco so as to change the mindsets of the people who have been earning from tobacco. He also called on parliament to put pressure on government to review the liberalization policy on agriculture so that farmers are not left to the mercy of the private sector like the Tobacco Industry which exploits them.
Hon. Namugwanya Benny assured the meeting that the PFNCDs is currently working with both the Ministries of Finance Planning and Economic Development( MFPED) as well as Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries ( MAAI) to streamline the necessary strategies for supporting the farmers to effectively shift to the identified alternatives. She said one of the strategies includes utilizing the structures and resources of the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) to support and promote the alternatives in the tobacco growing districts.
The MPs from the Tobacco Growing Districts noted with concern the changing tactics of the Tobacco Industry (TI) which they said is now promoting tobacco in virgin areas where the communities are not aware of its negative effects. They said the TI is also sponsoring farmers to use the media to give testimonies of the alleged benefits accruing to tobacco growing.
Responding to the concern about the TI tactics, Dr. Possy Mugyenyi, the manager of the Centre for Tobacco Control in Africa ( CTCA) said that it is such tactics that necessitate the urgent enactment of a comprehensive tobacco control legislation which will make it easy to curtail the activities of the Tobacco Industry. He assured the MPs that the Centre, working with the Ministry of Health ( MOH) and the World Health Organization ( WHO) is ready to provide the necessary technical assistance for the enactment of a law that is compliant with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). He said the MOH, which is also working closely with the MPs, is in the final stages of passing the relevant policy for the Bill.
The seconder of the motion to table the TC Bill, Hon. David Bahati, took the participants through the highlights of the Bill. He informed members that the delay in tabling the Bill has partially been due to the technical process that requires the private member to receive a Certificate of No Financial Implications from the MFPED, which he said is expected to be released in the forth coming week. He said this will enable the Bill to be tabled for the first reading before Parliament breaks for the Christmas recess.
Other resolutions made at the end of the meeting included;
• Immediate rolling out of a vibrant advocacy and communication campaign to sensitize the public about the dangers of tobacco, make tobacco growing unattractive and ensure support for the Bill at all levels including the grassroots communities in the tobacco growing districts
• Identifying tobacco control champions that will spear head the advocacy and communication campaigns both at national and community levels
• Devising a strategy to integrate tobacco control in other programs like Antenatal Care
• Engaging the East African Community in the tobacco control strategies
The meeting was jointly attended and supported by stakeholders that subscribe to the tobacco control advocacy and monitoring Alliance including the Centre for Tobacco Control in Africa (CTCA), Uganda Health Communications Alliance ( UHCA), Uganda National Health Users’/Consumers’ Organization ( UNHCO), Text for Change, Uganda National Tobacco Control Association ( UNTCA), the Parliamentary Press Association/ media and the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids ( CFTK) which funded the meeting.